“Attack! of the Killer Man from the Sun!”, the theater department’s most recent play production, was directed and produced by theater teacher Kaila Schwartz. In the play, a group of scientists try their best to save Earth from deadly solar flares, sophomore and theater student Mazaria Aldrich said.
“It just seemed like the perfect blend of science and comedy with an important message,” Schwartz said.
In this production, Aldrich played the character Alien One and found the role to be fun and engaging, Aldrich said. “This play meant a lot to me because the cast is just amazing,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich described the feeling of being onstage as scary and coped by imagining that no one was there, Aldrich said. “I get really nervous, but once I’m on stage, it’s very exciting to show people what acting really is, what you’re trying to tell, and how you’re trying to tell it,” Aldrich said.
Schwartz is the main figure who selects plays after running them by a couple of students; she tries to find productions that are fun to do and appealing, Schwartz said. This play in particular was recommended by a student, she added.
“A theater student of mine read the play before I did and said ‘Miss Schwartz, you have to read this play. It’s really funny, and it’s also about science,’” Schwarz said. “So I read it and I agreed with her, and I chose to do it.”Preparation for plays begins with two days of open auditions in front of Schwartz, her stage
managers, and theater alumni, Schwartz said. “The plays are completely extracurricular,” Schwartz said.
“Everybody is welcome to audition.” Once the cast is set, the team reads through the script and rehearses, Schwartz said. Rehearsals are conducted for six to eight weeks leading up to a show, she added. Rehearsals are each a few hours long and happen three to five times a week, Schwartz said. Two to four weeks before the production, they begin creating the physical set, she added.
“There are students who are more interested in doing technical theater stuff, so they come in and they help build and paint; it’s a lot of fun, actually,” Schwartz said. “We do it on the weekends. It usually takes all day and we’re all exhausted and dirty, but it’s fun.”
For the past four years, theater alumna Sofia William’s father received the set design from Schwartz and would plan out and assemble all the sets, Williams said. Williams worked on most of the hanging objects because she loves climbing on top of a ladder, she added. Before graduating, she was the stage manager and lighting designer for all the productions, she added.
“At the end of the weekend, you have an entire set built,” Williams said. “It’s like, ‘what do you mean we put up walls in a weekend?’ That doesn’t make any sense. But it does, and it’s really, really cool.”
After all the hard work of setting the stage, the staff is usually nervous and excited for their opening night, Schwartz said. “After our final performance, we tear down the set, sign each other’s posters, and have a party,” Schwartz said. “We order food and there’s a lot of crying; we’re usually here until one o’clock in
the morning.” Time almost feels relative while working on a show, like it’s both a very long and very short period of time, Williams said. Between going to classes, selling tickets, going to rehearsals that can last until eight o’clock at night, and doing homework, there’s barely enough time to sleep, she said.
“This last week of tech week is really intense, but it is so incredibly worth it,” Williams said. “I think it really builds everyone together. Everyone here is so close with each other and that’s one of the magical parts about theater.”